After Mass Culling, Australia May Put Kangaroos On Fertility Drugs

To deal with over-population, the government has sanctioned a mass cull.

Kangaroos have been breeding like rabbits and Australia’s solution is a mass culling. This week, more than 1,900 kangaroos will be killed across the Australian Capital Territory.

In large numbers, the creatures can destroy the environment by eating away vegetation. Over the last two years, about 4,000 kangaroos have been killed to curb population growth.

We know that it can lead to de-vegetation and the complete degradation of certain areas if we let it go too long. This is not about eradication, this is about sustainable numbers of eastern grey kangaroos.

Daniel Iglesias, Director of Parks and Conservation with the ACT government

Last year, the Australian government targeted feral cats to save endangered species like the Night Parrot. Cats have caused the extinctions of multiple species in the country.

But culls such as these are controversial, and environmentalists call for more humane methods to deal with over-population.

One solution would be to put kangaroos on fertility drugs, to prevent them from breeding. The drug, which would be injected, costs 15 Australian Dollars (about Rs. 731) per animal and halts breeding for five years.

But catching Kangaroos to administer the treatment is a different and more difficult matter. Some estimates suggest it could cost as much as 2000 AUD (about Rs 97,500) to catch the animals.

Daniel Iglesias, Director of Parks and Conservation with the Australian Capital Territory government says a trial in underway to test the efficacy of the drug.

The initial results are saying ‘yes there is a response in the female that might suggest that this drug could reduce fertility’. If we can do that, its a tool in the toolbox for us, because what it means is we can use another way to control over-abundant numbers.

Daniel Iglesias, Director of Parks and Conservation with the ACT government